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Holy Sh*t Horror: Martyrs (2008)

Every horror fan has a a few scenes that they’ve taken away from the genre where upon first viewing, have yelled out “Holy Sh*t!” or “Oh Sh*t!” or “God Damn Motherf*cker!” and well, you get the point. And no, I’m not talking about the part in Nightmare On Elm Street Part 4 where the dog pisses fire and resurrects Freddy Krueger. I’m talking about genuine shock moments or something so sick that you had to turn your head away from the TV and focus on something feminine. So here’s a new feature where I’ll spotlight those scenes that have affected me throughout my horror filled life and made me yell out “Holy Sh*t!”.

First up – easily one of my favorite horror films in the last 10 years. Pascal Laugier’s, Martyrs. Yes, this French flick had more than enough shocking moments in it, but the one that really made me sit up on the couch and take notice happened just a few minutes in when Anna (Morjana Alaoui) pays a little visit to her tormentors. Watch the clip below and wait for the first shotgun blast (sorry for the advertisement beforehand):

The whole scene is pretty disturbing, but in a beautiful way (gotta love that visual of the feathers falling in the air in the bedroom after more gunfire). But that first shotgun blast to the Dad lets you know that this movie isn’t playing around and as it progresses, you’ll understand why the French owned international horror around that time (see Inside and Frontiers as well). Martyrs doesn’t stick to the rules – and that’s what makes it so great. Definitely not an easy film to sit through, but if you’re a true horror fan, it’s worth it in the end. Just don’t expect a dog to start pissing fire and bringing a horror icon back to life. Seriously – that really happened folks.